March 31, 2007

Ego alert: This is about me

Print and online publications sometimes have a motto, like the New York Times' "All the news that's fit to print", which is published every day on the top-left corner of the front page. Other publications choose a quote that encapsulates their vision or their guiding principles. Usually, these quotes are from wise men and women like Aristotle, Einstein, maybe Eleanor Roosevelt or Tom Friedman (and many others of course). So I was a bit surprised to learn that a new German publication, Upload, a magazine covering digital publishing, is using a quote from my speech at the Reboot conference in Copenhagen last year as their motto: "Es gibt keine neuen und alten Medien -- nur Werkzeuge, um Geschichten besser zu erzählen":

Which in English would be something like: "Forget the new-vs-old-media argument -- they are all tools for telling a better story". I got a mail today from Jan Tissler, the founder of Upload, saying that this has helped frame his work. Glad to learn that, and I certainly wish Upload alot of success.

Congratulations on the ego thing! Everybody's ego needs a bit of attention every once in a while.

It is good when somebody takes what you say, runs away with it and uses it as inspiration. It is of course better when they quote or cite you too.

But then you know that you are right, story telling is still what all of this is about. The tools have improved considerably, and they will continue to improve. For those, like you, who are journalists, this is the best that could happen. You have both speed and global reach at your fingertips.